Profile: When a team makes a shortstop its' first-round pick, it often expects greatness and relatively quickly. For Plouffe, his first extended brush with greatness didn't come until his eighth season of pro ball in 2011, with the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings. He absolutely brutalized International League pitching to the tune of a .313/.384/.635 triple-slash (.437 wOBA), but found success, and playing time fleeting in the Major Leagues. Plouffe's overall slash-line of .238/.305/.392 won't turn any heads, though his throws from shortstop did (as the balls whizzed by). As a result, he is likely to head into 2012 as an outfielder, with a chance to start in right provided the team doesn't add anyone else. With its' limited budget, it's a distinct possibility that Plouffe could be in a timeshare with Ryan Doumit and Ben Revere out there. ottoneu managers should take note of his position eligibilities for their deep-league bench, though. (Brandon Warne)

The Quick Opinion: Plouffe could be intriguing if he takes the Michael Cuddyer career path to success, but there isn't enough evidence to suggest that'll be the case. He won't hit enough to carry a corner outfield spot on a fantasy team -- at least not yet -- and he's yet to show he can really hack it anywhere in the field defensively. Stay away, for now.

Profile: Plouffe came out of nowhere to have one of the hottest streaks we saw this side of Mike Trout in 2012. From May 28 to July 3 (30 games), Plouffe hit .319/.379/.756 with 15 home runs, 28 RBI, and 22 of his 38 hits went for extra bases. Of course, from July 4 on, Plouffe hit .221/.274/.343 and again raised doubts within the Twins organization whether he could hack third base defensively or if he'd ever hit right-handers consistently. The Twins aren't exactly back at square one with Plouffe, but he isn't above reproach. He's currently penciled in at third for the Twins in 2013, but Terry Ryan has insisted he'd bring in competition. With that potential window closing, it looks as though Plouffe will yet again man the hot corner for the Twins in 2013. And why not? The club isn't likely to be very good, and at some point the former first-rounder has to sink or swim. Fantasy-wise, Plouffe has potential to pop 30 home runs in full-time duty, but may only do it with a bad batting average, a sub-.800 OPS, and a tenuous grasp on a starting position. He'll be an extremely risky play in 2013. (Brandon Warne)

The Quick Opinion: If power at third base is all you need, Plouffe might be your man. Asking for anything else beyond is stretching it. He's already a risky draft pick in any league.

Profile: The entire fascination with Plouffe as a big leaguer centers on a ridiculously hot stretch in the summer of 2012. In June alone, Plouffe hit .327/.391/.735 with 11 home runs. But on the whole, Plouffe has hit .240/.300/.411, and has proven to only be marginally more competent at third than he was at short. And that isn't saying much, as he routinely had issues making ordinary throws. That tendency has only been slightly better at third, and only then with the scooping of the since departed Justin Morneau. Now Morneau is gone, and Plouffe faces stiff competition from uber prospect Miguel Sano, who will likely be ready to claim a big league job at third base within the next half-season or so, health-willing. At that time, Plouffe may fall back into a corner utility role, where he plays third, first, and maybe even finds where he left his outfield mitt as well. He can have value as a rover who mashes lefties (.278/.346/.495 career line versus portsiders), especially on a team that doesn't have a particularly strong amount of depth at the big league level. The sun hasn't set on Plouffe, at least not yet. Check back a year from now though, and one might find a drastically different story. (Brandon Warne)

The Quick Opinion: Plouffe will almost certainly break camp as the starter at third base, but where he ends next season is anyone's guess. He's a former first-rounder, so the Twins aren't apt to make a snap judgment on him anytime soon, but don't be shocked if 2014 is the last year of Plouffe in Twinstripes.

Profile: Last year I wrote "The sun hasn't set on Plouffe, at least not yet. Check back a year from now though, and one might find a drastically different story." That appears to have come to fruition. The whole season sort of flew under the radar, but Plouffe turned into quite a nice third baseman for the Twins in 2014. He poked 40 doubles, hit 14 homers, and set career bests in walk rate and strikeout rate -- all while finally playing a decent third base. Plouffe broke his forearm during the last week of the season, but is apparently all systems go now. It was long believed that Plouffe was keeping third base warm for Miguel Sano, and while that may still be true, it's going to be much tougher than previously expected for the young slugger. Not only was Sano out all last season with Tommy John surgery, but there have been whispers of a position change for him in the past few months as well. While that seems unlikely, it still shows that the Twins are committed to seeing exactly what Plouffe can do for them in 2015, and perhaps longer. With offense stunted leaguewide, Plouffe's .331 weighted on-base average ranked 11th among qualified third basemen, ahead of the following players: Pablo Sandoval, Evan Longoria, Chase Headley, David Freese, David Wright and Xander Bogaerts. That's a pretty good list. (Brandon Warne)

The Quick Opinion: Plouffe continued to pummel balls he pulled, but also learned to go the other way, take a walk, and play some defense. This rounding into form seems to suggest that he's taking the next step to becoming a long-term solution for the Twins. He's a legitimate third base target, especially in leagues that use slugging percentage. If you miss out on your top-tier third baseman, give Plouffe a look.

Profile: Not a ton changed for Plouffe in 2015 from the year before. He continued to look like a new man defensively at third base, and provided power, runs and RBIs on an offense that looked probably better than most people had expected. He'll never be an on-base percentage guy and he's always hit lefties a lot better than righties, but with the state of third base where it is, Plouffe is a pretty nice player overall. The Twins have remained steadfast in their desire to keep him around, going so far as to say they'll move uber prospect/star Miguel Sano to the outfield. Now whether that's posturing to maintain leverage in a possible deal or something the team is actually going to do... that can be debated. But at this stage of the offseason, it appears the Twins are serious about it, meaning another likely solid, if unspectacular season in Minneapolis at the hot corner in Twinstripes for Plouffe. (Brandon Warne)

The Quick Opinion: He'll never come close to matching the Manny Machados, Nolan Arenados or Kris Bryants of the world, but Plouffe is a decent second-tier fantasy third baseman. He's a nice fallback option, but probably not too much more.

Profile: Oblique injuries are never good for a hitter, and thus it's no surprise that two of them waylaid any possible progress for Plouffe in a pivotal year. He hit just .260/.303/.420 while getting into only 84 games as the injuries made both his offense and defense suffer. As a result, the Twins opted to release him after the season rather than pay him in his final year of arbitration/team control. Oakland is getting a player motivated for his first big payday, and if he's healthy, he should provide value both defensively at third and first base — less so if he's used in the outfield — and at the plate, at least against lefties. He's hit lefties at a .268/.344/.465 clip in his big-league career. He'll be more of a mix-and-match type in fantasy leagues no matter his role. (@Brandon_Warne)

The Quick Opinion: Plouffe is a better fit in Scoresheet and deeper leagues. He's the front-runner for the starting third base job in Oakland, but health will play a large role in how long he retains that spot.

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